Structure of automatic pressure adjustable air bed

ABSTRACT

An improved structure of automatic pressure adjustable air bed mainly includes an air mattress, an air pump, and air pipes arranged therebetween, as well as a control system disposed on the air bed. The control system includes multiple pressure sensors disposed on the air mattress for acquiring pressure signals, and a main control unit for controlling actions of the air pump or electrical controlled valves thereon, thereby achieving the automatic adjustment of firmness of the air mattress.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to an improved structure of automatic pressure adjustable air bed, in particular, to an air bed structure dedicated for bedridden patients, in which a control system for automatically controlling the air-charging pressure of the mattress is disposed, so as to achieve the automatic adjustment of the firmness of the air mattress.

2. Related Art

A conventional air bed structure mainly includes an air mattress, an air pump, and an air pipe arranged therebetween. The air mattress is divided into multiple air inflation areas, such as three areas for head, body, and feet (or more areas). The air pump is activated to charge air into and pressurize different areas of the air mattress via the air pipe at the same time, so as to achieve the purpose of air charging.

However, for the conventional air bed structure in use, the air pump is controlled to activate or shut down manually. When the pressure of the air mattress is overly high (too firm), the deflation button or other air exhaust device on the air pipe is operated by manual control method to relief the pressure of the air mattress, so as to achieve the effect of adjusting the firmness of the air bed. According to the above pressure control structure and method, the pressure control is completed by human senses and actions. In other words, the operator must directly touch the air bed to perceive the firmness of the air mattress of the air bed, or is told by the person lying on the air bed to implement the adjustment control of the pressurization or pressure-relief of the air bed.

The conventional firmness adjustment of the air bed has the following disadvantages. It is difficult to use a single air pump to charge multiple areas bearing different weights to achieve proper air pressure in all areas, so other control devices or structures must be used. In addition, bedridden patients mostly lose their moving or speaking ability, and cannot operate the pressure adjusting device or structure at will, so they need an assistant. Therefore, in addition to the demands for human resources and the cost, it is uneasy to make accurate adjustment to achieve the proper firmness. Therefore, the above air bed pressure adjustment structure and method are in need of improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the conventional air bed pressure adjustment structure and method, based on years' experience in manufacturing and design, the inventor develops a novel improved structure of automatic pressure adjustable air bed for solving the problem of inconvenience and deficiencies in use and control.

The present invention is directed to an improved structure of automatic pressure adjustable air bed, capable of automatically detecting and adjusting the air pressure of an air mattress, thereby reducing the labor burden and providing an air bed with moderate firmness and more comfortable experience for users.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an improved structure of automatic pressure adjustable air bed, which incorporates a control system on the air bed. The system at least includes multiple pressure sensors, a main control unit, an air pump, and multiple electrical controlled valves disposed on the air pump. The pressure sensors are respectively disposed on air inflation areas of the air mattress, for sensing air pressures of corresponding areas. The main control unit is electrically connected to the pressure sensors, the air pump, and the electrical controlled valves, so as to receive signals transmitted from the pressure sensors, and then output corresponding control signals to corresponding air pump and electrical controlled valves. The air pump is an air-charging device for the air mattress, which receives the control signals of the main control unit to perform action of activating (pumping) or shutting down (stopping operating). The electrical controlled valves are disposed between an air inlet port of the air pump and air pipes for transmitting air, at least have air exhaust and locking functions, and receive the control signals of the main control unit to implement actions of activating (air exhaust) or shutting down (locking).

Based on the above structure combination in use, if a person is lying on the air mattress of the air bed, after the system is powered on, the system senses the pressures by the use of the pressure sensors disposed on the air inflation area of the air mattress, and respectively generates a pressure signal transmitted to the control unit. After receiving the signals, the main control unit respectively generates corresponding control signals to the air pump and/or multiple electrical controlled valves, so as to activate the air pump and/or multiple electrical controlled valves to charge air if the air-charging is needed or exhaust air if the pressure-relief is required, thereby achieving the automatic adjustment of the firmness of the air mattress.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic three-dimensional combination view of an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To make the structure, device, and features of the present invention more comprehensive, a preferred embodiment is illustrated in details below in accompanying with drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in the improved structure of automatic pressure adjustable air bed of the present invention, the air bed 1 mainly includes an air mattress 11, an air pump 12, and several air pipes 13 arranged therebetween. A control system 2 is incorporated on the air bed 1 and at least includes multiple pressure sensors 21, a main control unit 22, an air pump 12, and multiple electrical controlled valves 23 disposed on the air pump 12. The pressure sensors 21 are respectively disposed on several air inflation areas of the air mattress 11, for sensing air pressures (or bearing pressures) of corresponding areas. The main control unit 22 is electrically connected to the pressure sensors 21, the air pump 12, and the electrical controlled valves 23, so as to receive pressure (resistance) signals transmitted from the pressure sensors 21, and then output corresponding control signals to the air pump and/or electrical controlled valves 23. The air pump 12 is an air-charging device for the air mattress 11, which may receive control signals of the main control unit 22 to automatically implement actions of activating (pumping) or shutting down (stopping operating). The electrical controlled valves 23 are disposed between an air inlet port of the air pump 12 and the air pipes 13 for transmitting air (may also be directed fixed on the body of the air pump), at least have air exhaust and locking functions, and receive control signals of the main control unit to implement actions of activating (air exhaust) or shutting down (locking). Moreover, the electrical controlled valves 23 in practice may be three-stage valves each having air-charging, air exhaust, and locking functions, or equivalent devices having the same functions.

Based on the above structure combination in use (according to the above description in combination with the flow chart of FIG. 2), if a person is lying on the air mattress 11 of the air bed 1, after the power source 201 is activated, the control system 2 sustains pressure detection 202, i.e., senses and detects the pressure by the use of pressure sensors 21 on the air inflation areas of the air mattress 11, and generates pressure (i.e., resistance that decreases when the pressure becomes higher) signals to the control unit 22. After receiving the above pressure signals, the main control unit 23 compares the pressure signals with a standard (resistance) value set in the main control unit 23, so as to determine whether it is a proper pressure (comfort value) 203. If so, no control signals will be output and the procedure returns to the step of pressure detection 202 to continue detection. If not, the procedure enters a next step for determining whether the pressure is overly high (too firm) 204. If the determination result shows that the pressure is overly high 204, a control signal is output to a corresponding electrical controlled valve 23 to activate the valve to enter the air exhaust state, so as to perform a pressure-relief control 205 to reduce the air pressure. At the same time, the procedure returns to the step of pressure detection 202 to continue detection until the proper pressure is detected. If not, a control signal is output to a corresponding air pump 12 to activate the air pump to enter the air-charging state, so as to perform the pressurizing control 206 to pressurize the sensed air inflation area of the air mattress 11. At the same time, the procedure returns to the step of pressure detection 202 to continue detection until the proper pressure is detected. In the course of pressure detection of the present invention, the pressures (resistances) obtained by the pressure sensors 21 may be input into the main control unit 22 to make comparison, and thereafter respectively generate corresponding control signals to the air pump 12 and/or multiple electrical controlled valves 23 so as to activate them (if the electrical controlled valves are three-stage valves, the electrical controlled valves are controlled to operate in the air-charging state when the air pump operates) to charge air if the air-charging is needed or exhaust air if the pressure-relief is required, thereby achieving the automatic adjustment of the firmness of the air mattress 11.

Additionally, in the implementation of the above structure, the pressure sensors 21 may be used to sense the pressures of all areas of the air mattress 11, so as to automatically detect whether the air mattress 11 is bottom-out. That is, in the present invention, the patient lies down to a level below the lowest horizontal level supported by the air mattress 11, the pressure sensors 21 detect and determine that the air-charging pressure of the air mattress 11 is insufficient, which is referred to as the “bottom-out.” In this situation, the air pump 12 automatically increases the level of the air-charging pressure until the signals returned by the pressure sensors 21 show that the mattress leaves the “bottom-out” state, so as to offer more comfortable experience to the patient lying on the bed. Furthermore, the present invention may automatically detect if the patient on air mattress 11 sits up. This function is applicable to the cases that the patient must sit up for meals or taking examinations. In these situations, the pressure at the position of the air mattress 11 where the patient sits is detected to be insufficient to support the sitting posture of the patient, and the pressure sensors 21 may automatically detect that the patient already sits up straight, and automatically increases the essential air-charging pressure of air mattress 11 to provide the convenience in use for the patient.

The above shape and structure disclosed in the above embodiment are described by way of example, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art would appreciate that the elements may be replaced by the like or same elements without departing the scope of the present invention.

To sum up, the improved structure of automatic pressure adjustable air bed of the present invention is simple and convenient in use, and does not need assistant or overcome the deficiency that the most comfortable state cannot be easily achieved. Moreover, no similar structures or techniques of the present invention have been published or used by the public. Therefore, the structure of the present invention is filed for a utility model patent pursuant to the laws and regulations.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims. 

1. An improved structure of automatic pressure adjustable air bed, mainly comprising an air mattress, an air pump, and air pipes arranged therebetween, as well as a control system disposed on the air bed, the control system at least comprising multiple pressure sensors, a main control unit, an air pump, and multiple electrical controlled valves; wherein: the pressure sensors are respectively disposed on several air inflation areas of the air mattress, for sensing air pressures of corresponding areas; the main control unit is electrically connected to the pressure sensors, the air pump, and the multiple electrical controlled valves, for receiving signals transmitted from the pressure sensors, and then outputting corresponding control signals to the corresponding air PUMP and electrical controlled valves; the air pump is an air-charging device for the air mattress, and receives the control signals of the main control unit to implement an action of activating or shutting down; the multiple electrical controlled valves are disposed between an air inlet port of the air pump and the air pipes for transmitting air, at least have air exhaust and locking functions, and receive the control signals of the main control unit to implement an action of activating or shutting down.
 2. The improved structure of automatic pressure adjustable air bed according to claim 1, wherein the electrical controlled valves are three stage valves having air-charging, air exhaust, and locking functions. 